This invention concerns an electronic timepiece comprising a time base, a frequency divider, a stepping motor driving minutes and hours indicating hands, and an electric switch manually actuable for setting the hands, all being arranged in such a manner that, responsive to a brief actuation of the switch the minutes hand steps through one minute, and responsive to a longer actuation of the switch the minutes hand makes a complete revolution at increased speed without stopping.
A timepiece of this type is known and has been set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,453. Herein there are no longer mechanical arrangements for correction and time setting and these are realized exclusively by electronic means. The correction arrangement is particularly simple and includes nothing more than a simple push button arranged for example in a manner to correspond to the normal position of the crown on a mechanical wrist-watch. The watch described comprises a stepping motor which is employed for driving directly the minutes hand and the hours hand through a system of planetary gears. The arrangement is such that the minutes hand makes a single step each minute thereby economising energy and permitting employment of a much smaller battery. The mentioned application describes a system which gives the possibilities:
(a) to obtain time setting of the minutes hand. A succession of short duration pulses (on the order of one second) on the push button has as and effect to step the motor, and thereby the minutes hand which is directly coupled thereto, through as many steps as there are pulses applied.
(b) to regulate the phase of the seconds although seconds are not displayed. That is to say, when a time signal is received the minutes hand should be located just at the point where the indication should change. A single short duration pulse (on the order of one second) on the push button at the moment of a zero second time signal will set the watch to the exact second. Should the watch be running several seconds slow this phase setting, as described, will have the effect of adding a single minute pulse. On the contrary if the watch is running fast the phase setting will set to zero the frequency divider without other effect.
(c) to change rapidly the hours hand setting in the case where the user changes time zones or when there is a change between Winter or Summer time as presently occurs in numerous countries. This change is effected by maintaining the button pushed during a longer time period (on the order of more than three seconds). The motor will then begin to turn rapidly (for instance at 32 steps per seconds). As soon as the hand has begun its motion, if one then releases the push button the minutes hand will advance rapidly 60 steps this corresponding to an advance of one hour. If the push button is maintained actuated the minutes hand will continue to turn. When it is released the hand will complete the set of 60 steps which has begun then will return to normal operation. During these operations precision is maintained.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide the timepiece described above with an additional function namely that it may be stopped in a state of minimum energy consumption or storage state, it being understood that it is uniquely the same push button which is employed for this new function.
Prior art electronic watches have been suggested in which is provided a storage state in order to diminish the energy consumption thereof.
German patent No. 27 30 330 describes a watch provided with a function selector of which a position or special condition of the logic circuit, referred to as storage, placed for reasons of convenience at the beginning or the end of the function control signal for possible functions, creates a signal which activates an erasing circuit and a temporisor. However, here the arrangement is intended for a timepiece which includes such a function selector which, for instance, permits obtaining, in turn, the storage condition, then the displays of hours and minutes or dates and seconds and finally the conditioning of the watch for time correction, this correction being necessarily realized by means of a special time corrector. This arrangement requires the provision of a temporisor or delay intended to avoid a loss of the hour when at the time that the functions are being selected the selector passes from one position to another through the storage position. As has been said above, the timepiece according to the present invention does not provide a function selector but solely a time corrector which reacts differently on the display according to whether the corrector is subject to a brief pressure (advance minute by minute) or a longer pressure (advancing at least one time zone or complete revolution of the minutes hand). It is not readily seen by what further action different from those above it will be possible to act on the push button in order to place the watch in the storage condition. It will be seen further on that it is during a period when the minutes hand is making its full revolution that actuation of the push button will place the watch in the state of reduced consumption. Such arrangement is neither described nor suggested in the above citation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,283 describes a time setting system employing a single push button. A first actuation thereof causes the watch hands to be rapidly driven. A second actuation stops operation and a third actuation causes the hands to be restored to normal operation. In one variant it is foreseen that a cam fixed or coupled for instance to the seconds hand may cause automatic stopping at noon of the seconds hand. It will be noticed initially that the second actuation of the push button, or as a variant the action of the cam, has as a purpose to stop the hands in order to permit restarting at a time signal. Thus we are here concerned with time setting and not at all with placing in a storage condition which moreover has not been foreseen. Finally the cited patent publication does not correspond to the generic definition of the present invention which distinguishes between a short duration actuation (minutes setting) and the long duration actuation (hour or time zone setting) on the push button during which there may come into play the placing into the storage condition of the watch. Effectively in the cited publication the seconds hand is accelerated as soon as one actuates the push button and this regardless of the duration of the actuation.
German patent application No. 26 58 326 proposes an electronic timepiece provided with two push buttons S.sub.1 and S.sub.2. When the first of these is actuated the motor rotates in one sense and when the second is actuated the motor may turn in the other sense. In order to place the watch in the storage condition it is necessary to actuate simultaneously both push buttons. One may immediately see that what is disclosed in the cited publication not only does not correspond to the generic definition of this invention but furthermore requires the use of two switches to arrive at a storage condition of the watch, this not being the case in the invention about to be described.
It will be understood that the storage condition may be advantageous for several reasons. From the moment that the watch leaves the final inspection in the factory till the time when it is sold by a retailer, several months indeed years, may pass. If the energy source (battery) can be left connected permanently, but at a reduced load, storage load, and a simple manual control permits changeover from the reduced load to the normal load (normal operation of the watch), the life duration of the battery will be increased to a considerable degree. Moreover for aesthetic reasons the retailer prefers to present his watches in a state where the hands occupy all the same position, for example 10 minutes past 10. Finally the user of the watch himself may wish to place the watch in a storage state, this perhaps being the case for a timepiece worn only occasionally such as in the case of jewellery.
Another purpose of this invention is to provide several variants in order to bring the timepiece into the storage state. Such purposes may be attained through means as defined in the attached claims.